Create Operations Infrastructure for a High-Tech Start-Up Company

Role: Project Manager Number of people working on Assignment: 1 consultant/programmer, 9 client personnel

Duration of Engagement: 4 months

Problem Presented: Client needed assistance defining an operational infrastructure necessary to transition the company from being a start-up “product development” company to a complete sales, manufacturing, service and distribution company.

Assessment and Steps:
• Created a set of Document Control procedures covering part numbering, change control, control of purchased components
• Defined user interface for an On-Line Document Control System
• Converted existing departmental part numbering systems into a unified corporate system
• Released design using procedures and on-line tools created for this client

Results Achieved: Met client’s requirements for completing effort; built an operational infrastructure consistent with culture and business needs. Client had appropriate tools and processes to accommodate multiple sites spread throughout California as well as support outsourced manufacturing. Suppliers had access to latest drawings. Engineering Change Orders could be approved and incorporated in Engineering documentation and ERP within a few hours.

Dave Gardner

Dave Gardner is a management consultant, speaker, blogger and author based in Silicon Valley. He's been in the front row for the birth and evolution of Silicon Valley, the innovation capital of the world. Since 1992, Dave Gardner has focused on making the complex simple. He can be reached through his website, www.DaveGardner.biz, or via phone at +1 408-475-7068.

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